The Prince and the Pauper
by Mizzytron
Summary: A collection of short stories about Sokka and Zuko, the trials they face, and how their relationship has changed over the years.
1. Holding Hands

**The Prince and the Pauper**

**By Mizzy (LB)**

**Summary: **A collection of short stories about Sokka and Zuko, and how their relationship changes over the years.

**Pairings – All chapters: **Sokka/Zuko

**Pairings – This chapter: **Mentions of Yue/Sokka

**Warnings – This chapter: **Fluff, cheesiness, G-rated slash

**Disclaimin**: The Avatar IP (intellectual property) including The Last Airbender and Legend of Korra series belong to Michael Dante DiMartino, Bryan Konietzko, and Nickelodeon. I claim no ownership and make pretty much none dollars off of this fanfiction.

**Notes: **This is a writing project I started for the "30 Day OTP Challenge" on Tumblr. There will be 30 short stories to go along with the theme for each day. I'm trying to keep this kind of short, so I will hopefully be able to keep up with these daily!

Some chapters may be longer than others, and of course the ratings between chapters will fluxuate. Right now it's rated G, but I will bump up the fic rating as needed. It will probably be rated M by the end of the 30 days. I will of course add warnings for each chapter as needed. This chapter takes place sometime during season 3.

Anyways, enough of me talking. Hope you enjoy the ride!

XXXX

**Chapter One**

"Holding Hands"

If Zuko had learned anything from being with Sokka, which he did, it was that Sokka never excused himself from meals unless something was really, really wrong. At first Zuko pretended that it didn't bother him. He focused intently on his bowl of soup, half-listening to all the idle conversation around him. Maybe he just needed his space. After all, if anyone understood the need for brooding, it was Zuko. But the group's energy was gradually dying down, and so was the campfire. Zuko was glaring furiously into his soup. His free hand had his chopsticks in a death grip.

"I'm going to go find Sokka," he declared suddenly, startling the others mid-conversation. Katara and Aang just looked at each other and back to Zuko, bemused.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Aang asked slowly, in that tone that always reminded Zuko that the Avatar was older and wiser than he looked. Katara just nodded, glancing at something behind Zuko's back before adding gently,

"Aang's right, Zuko. I think he just needs some time alone right now." Zuko blushed, trying his hardest to keep composed.

"I…I just want to make sure he's okay."

Toph was the one to break the tension, abruptly rising to her feet and making an exaggerated show of how tired she was.

"Well I guess that settles it then! Sparky can go find Snoozles, while _I_ find my bed. Good night guys!" She staggered off to find a suitable place for her rock-tent while the others waved good night, but not before leveling a knowing smirk at Zuko. Zuko groaned inwardly, using the opportunity to leave camp. He could already hear her voice in his head. _You're gonna owe me big for saving you from blowing your cover, Princess Hotpants._

Sokka was easy to find. He was only a short hike away, situated on the edge of a drop-off right above where the ocean washed up on the rocky coastline. It was a great view, Zuko mused absent-mindedly. You could see the full moon perfectly from here.

"I don't really feel like talking right now Zuko," said Sokka as the firebender hiked up the hill.

"That's okay. I don't either," Zuko replied, plopping down next to Sokka. He winced. "Wait, that's…that's not what I meant," There was a long pause punctuated with Zuko's "um"s and "ah"s, before he added quickly, "I brought your soup!" Sokka drew back a little, not expecting Zuko to thrust the bowl in his face. The broth was steaming again. "I thought you would be hungry," Zuko's voice was quiet, losing confidence quickly in his master plan.

Sokka, much to Zuko's combined relief and surprise, smiled, and took the bowl, setting it aside. But that sad look in his eyes still ate at Zuko's chest. He followed Sokka's gaze out to the ocean, and nearly slapped himself for not connecting the dots. _My first girlfriend turned into the moon._

"You don't have to talk to me about her," he murmured, crestfallen. Jealousy of the moon was not a becoming emotion. But then Sokka took his hand in his abruptly, squeezing it. Sokka already knew. Sokka could read him like a book.

"It's not fair to her to be angry with her. She had no other choice. But," Sokka trailed off with a sigh, "it's not fair to you to see me like this. That's why I didn't want to talk about it." Zuko just squeezed Sokka's hand back. He understood. Sokka needed to protect the people he loved.

"But look on the bright side!" Zuko blurted out. Oh no. This was already starting out all wrong. "If she hadn't…done that…then you and I would have never-" he was cut off abruptly when Sokka leaned over to kiss him. Zuko stiffened, then melted into the kiss, every muscle in his body relaxing.

"Zuko, I love you, but you're a terrible wordbender." The pair laughed into the night.

**A/N: **This one is pretty short. I might make them longer in the future. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed it! Even if you didn't like it, let me know! As always, constructive criticism is welcomed and greatly encouraged.


	2. Cuddling Somewhere

**Warnings – This chapter: **Fluff, G-rated slash, implied sex

**Notes: **This one takes place post-show, both Zuko and Sokka are adults.

XXXX

**Chapter Two**

"Cuddling Somewhere"

One thing Sokka missed about being in the Fire Nation was the rain. Back in the Southern Water Tribe, it didn't rain, it snowed. So waking up to hear the drumming of rain filled him with both delight and laziness. He pounced on the Fire Lord the first chance he could get. Zuko didn't quite understand his eagerness, but Sokka was pretty sure he enjoyed it anyways.

So the rain found them tangled up in each other on a chaise, Sokka running his fingers idly through Zuko's hair. Zuko rubbed lazy circles in his chest. Neither of them cared too much for anything that didn't involve feeling every inch of each other.

"What's on your mind?" Sokka asked. Zuko "hmm"ed softly, his voice vibrating against Sokka's skin.

"Nothing. I was just wondering what it was that made you so excited," he chuckled. Sokka smirked, tugging on a strand of hair.

He would have told him about back when they were teenagers, during their clumsy, awkward, period. He would have told him about the ill-fated fishing trip they took, in which "fishing" was a thinly-veiled excuse for "finding a spot where we can have all the clumsy, excited make out sessions we want without worrying about people hearing us". Not that they didn't do any actual fishing, but the aforementioned make out sessions made it difficult to concentrate on anything else.

He would have told him about the morning they were supposed to head back. Rather, it was morning when Zuko woke up. Sokka wouldn't be moved before lunchtime. He did eventually get up, only to find it pouring outside on a very disgruntled Zuko, who was trying his best to gather up their catch. All Sokka could do was laugh. No matter what Zuko did, he couldn't escape the rain plastering his hair to his face, making it impossible to see. He paused to glare at Sokka in between a series of strangled curses.

"Have you tried getting a haircut?" He teased. Zuko glared even harder, which made Sokka's grin even wider. The firebender was kind of adorable when he was mad. "You're right, I'm sorry," he chuckled, holding up both of his hands in surrender. Zuko just huffed in response, turning his back on Sokka. "Aww, don't be like that," Sokka purred, wrapping his arms around Zuko's shoulders so he couldn't escape. "A little rain never hurt anyone." Zuko relaxed a little into his arms. Success!

"Anyone who's not a firebender," he pouted.

"That's right, you can't bend in the rain, can you?"

"A little. Not very well." Sokka frowned. He could barely imagine what it was like to have your bending impeded. Though once he sprained his right hand, and he could barely use his sword or boomerang for days. Not quite the same thing.

"Back in the Southern Water Tribe, all it ever does is snow. So we don't get rain. Or mud," Sokka shrugged. Zuko's brow furrowed.

"I don't see what's so exciting about mud." Sokka smirked. He had an idea. An idea that had a high chance of Zuko burning his face off, but a delicious idea nonetheless.

"This!" Sokka shoved Zuko off of him, making him fall face-first into the riverbank-turned-mud hole. Zuko cried out when he fell forward, the mud splashing all over his arms and face.

"What the hell Sokka?!" he yelled, turning over. Sokka stood over him, but instead of laughing, he had an intense look on his face. Sokka dropped to his knees as well, ignoring how the mud splashed all over their clothes. He couldn't help it. He just stared at Zuko, soaking wet and dirty, and he was in love.

Zuko held his breath when Sokka crawled over him, shielding him from the rain.

"You're really beautiful like this," he murmured. He lifted a hand to Zuko's scarred cheek, brushing some mud off with his thumb.

It would have been a really long story. But he was pretty sure they both knew it by heart anyways.

"Remember that fishing trip we took when it started raining?" He asked. Zuko blushed, just like how he did at the riverbank. Of course he remembered that trip. How could he forget?

"You mean when our first time was in a mud puddle?" Zuko asked. Sokka laughed.

"Remember how much we regretted it later?" Zuko smirked.

"Yeah, you do have terrible taste in spots," he commented dryly.

"I can't help it. You look so pretty when you're all wet," Sokka purred, leering .

"Oh yeah?" With that Zuko got up, smirking because he knew how Sokka was watching. He was walking towards the balcony.

"Where are you going?" Zuko didn't answer, only sliding the doors open and stepping outside. "Zuko, what if someone sees you?!" Sokka protested, indicating the Fire Lord's state of undress.

"What if?" Zuko chuckled. He held his arms out, letting the rain fall over him. Sokka's mouth went dry. Zuko leaned back against the railing casually, staring Sokka down as if daring him to join. They stayed like that for a moment, in the midst of a battle of wills. Finally Sokka gave in, sighing. He cursed under his breath.

Zuko wrapped his arms around Sokka's waist on the balcony. Sokka took Zuko's jaw in his hands, wiping off imaginary dirt with his thumb.

**A/N: **Hope you liked it! Critiques always welcome! I just realized after I wrote this that Zuko does indeed bend in the rain in the show. This is what I get for writing on the fly! Aaaaaaugh.


	3. Playing Games

**Notes: **Sorry this took so long! I was out of town all weekend without internet. But hopefully this will get all back on track! Enjoy!

**Chapter Three**

"Playing Games"

After impromptu romps, the next best thing to do while it was raining outside was a competitive game of Pai Sho while relaxed in robes and a nest of pillows. Unfortunately, Zuko hadn't inherited his uncle's scary genius for the game, but Sokka was surprisingly good for a beginner. Though in retrospect, it wasn't surprising at all that Sokka would be good at this certain game, when you considered his affinity for strategy.

Zuko's brow creased when Sokka's piece clacked across the board, executing a winning move that he had never seen coming.

"How did you…?" He was incredulous, fisting his hair in aggravation. Sokka only smiled sympathetically at him. This was the seventh game he'd won since they sat down. Anyways, he knew better than to suggest a different game, because Zuko was insistent that _he was going to win a game of Pai Sho against Sokka if it was going to kill him! _And spirits forbid Sokka took it easy on him. If Zuko had any indication that Sokka was letting him win or at least letting him lose less quickly, Sokka would never hear the end of it. He didn't mind winning every time. At least the conversation was entertaining.

"You should consider every consequence before you make a move," he supplied softly. Zuko sighed, resting his forehead in his hands, growling that he already knew that, and that this was starting to sound like one of his uncle's thinly-veiled life lessons. With a resigned expression, he dedicated himself to clearing the board and placing the tiles in the starting positions again.

"Maybe if you tried a different strategy…" Sokka suggested. Zuko shot him a look.

"Different how?"

"Different relative to previously attempted strategies." Zuko's expression was deadpan. He gingerly moved his first piece.

"So you're implying my strategies are all fundamentally identical?"

"Correct."

"Impossible. In order to be fundamentally identical, both entities must have all their properties in common."

"Yes, that's true, however the execution differs, and your ulterior thesis remains the same."

"Then they are not identical."

"How so?"

"Entities X and Y are only identical if every predicate possessed by X is also possessed by Y and vice versa. To suppose them indiscernible is to suppose that two distinct things are exactly alike, which is counter to the ontological principle."

Sokka leaned back and pondered this for a moment, while absent-mindedly playing his turns.

"But your theorem is flawed. According to your principle, entities are identical if and only if any quality possessed by X is also possessed by Y and vice versa, correct?"

"That's true," Zuko replied slowly, as if to say _get to the point_.

"The Blue Spirit is your secret identity, that is, you are identical people, but most people don't know this fact."

"We are still identical."

"Not necessarily. Zhao thought that The Blue Spirit is capable of disappearing into thin air. Zhao believed that Zuko cannot disappear into thin air. Therefore, the Blue Spirit has a property that Zuko does not have, namely that Zhao believed that he can disappear into thin air. Therefore, the Blue Spirit is not identical to Zuko," Sokka gestured wildly. "The conclusion is contradictory to the premise, therefore we can conclude that your principle is wrong."

"Zhao's loyalty was ostensibly to the Fire Nation, but he was additionally self-serving, despite him and the Fire Nation having conflicting motivations," Zuko explained calmly, as the tiles clacked across the board, the game all but forgotten in the midst of their debate. "Take, for example, when he chose to eliminate the moon spirit. His motive was sound on the surface: eliminate the moon permanently and this would aid the Fire Nation. However, eliminating the moon spirit would send the elements into flux, which ultimately does not serve the Fire Nation's best interests. However, this does serve his ulterior motive to converge on anarchy and confusion. Therefore, we can conclude that Zhao is capable of holding conflicting beliefs. Secondly, we can conclude that a person's belief about an entity is not a predicate of that entity, considering Zhao's assumption about the role of the death of the moon spirit was patently false. A person's belief about an entity is a predicate of the person who holds it."

Zuko took his turn as he said this. Sokka looked down lazily at the board, preparing to take his turn, only to be shocked. He glanced back up at Zuko's triumphant expression. _I win_, he mouthed. Sokka groaned, falling backwards into the pillows.

"Hey Zuko? Maybe we shouldn't talk about philosophy while playing Pai Sho anymore," he whined. Zuko blanched.

"Are you kidding? This is the only way I know how to beat you," Zuko grinned, setting up the board again.

"What do you know about the rule against perpetuities?"

**A/N: **Hope you enjoyed it! Critiques and comments always welcome.


	4. On a Date

**Notes: **Just a little bit AU, set during season 3. Team Avatar goes to a Fire Nation festival, this time with Zuko in tow.

**Chapter Four**

"On a Date"

"You know, for an evil empire, the Fire Nation really likes festivals," Sokka commented, looking curiously into all the vendors as the group walked down the street. Zuko blanched, inwardly thanking the spirits that no one was paying attention to them amidst the commotion.

"It's almost like they don't know there's a war going on," said Katara. Zuko commented under his breath that they don't, only to shy away when the group stared at him. He shrugged, as if it was obvious, avoiding their gazes.

"Let's talk about something else," he sulked, pulling his hood further down over his face. He continued to sulk as the others "ooh"ed and "ahh"ed over the various stands, hanging back with his arms crossed over his chest. Sokka eyed him in his peripheral, frowning. Announcing suddenly that he and Zuko needed to head for the nearest vendor that sold fire flakes, he grabbed the sullen firebender and dragged him protesting through the crowd.

"Okay, you're acting way moodier than usual. Tell me what's wrong," Sokka interrogated him as soon as they were out of earshot of the rest of the group. He had Zuko cornered in the shadows behind one of the tents, where no one was likely to pay them any attention. Zuko was preoccupied with looking everywhere but directly at Sokka, pouting. He mumbled something incoherent. Sokka was unmoved. When the silence between them became unbearable and it was clear he wasn't getting away any time soon, Zuko relented,

"This was supposed to be our date," he grumbled. Sokka blinked for a moment. He smiled with relief, as if to say, that was all? He thought it was something serious.

"It still is our date, just with a lot more people involved." Zuko glared. "You're right, you're right. I know it sucks. I tried hinting at them that we wanted to go alone. You try convincing Aang not to go to a festival." Zuko's expression was petulant for a few moments before he finally dissolved, kissing Sokka quickly. Sokka smiled, tugging away Zuko's hood.

The couple finally emerged into the crowd again, after Sokka convinced Zuko to buy him fire flakes.

"I don't know what you see in those," Zuko commented, crossing his arms in mock disapproval. Sokka shot him a wilted look.

"I can't help it. They burn so good!" Sokka could barely conceal his drool. He didn't see Zuko blush at the phrase. Zuko waited behind, his mood pleasantly turned around. He listened idly to the crowd buzzing around him. He could pick out a conversation vaguely, a few feet away.

"Hey, is that…?"

"That's the guy on the poster!"

"Yeah, they have the same scar."

It felt like someone punched Zuko in the stomach. He called out for Sokka, trying to tell him that they had to leave, but Sokka wasn't paying attention, in the middle of a conversation with the fire flakes vendor about the finer nature of spices. A heavy hand clapped down on Zuko's shoulder. Zuko flinched.

"Hey, kid, I'm gonna need you to come with me."

**A/N: **Trying something a little different for this chapter. Gonna do a small arc of sorts. Aaaah suspense! Anyways, hope you liked it! Critiques and comments always appreciated.


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